Thursday, March 28, 2024

R&R For Some: TdF Stage 13 (mountaintop)

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HomeJournalsGarmin Physio Toby WatsonR&R For Some: TdF Stage 13 (mountaintop)

After a single day of respite from the searing heat of the majority of this race, we were back into a bright sunny day for TdF Stage 13 with high temperatures. This meant the support crew were back up the road helping our boys as best we were able on the big climbs.

When standing and helping (and watching) on the mountains there are two groups we tend to pay closest attention to: the leaders and the grupetto.

TdF Stage 13
Ryder is doing a great job.

We watch the leaders to see how our man Ryder’s travelling, as well as what’s going down with the race in general, and we watch the grupetto to ensure our boys (if there) are not suffering too greatly, nor that they are in any danger of missing the time cut.

Yesterday was very nice from both of these perspectives. Ryder was looking great up with the leaders — so good he even blew a kiss to his lovely fiancee Ashley (who hung out with us yesterday). While the grupetto had equally good news, with Julian being our only man in the bunch, and he was looking very comfortable at the front.

Ryder had another fantastic day, and is right in contention for a top 10 finish overall. Keep it up Weight of a Nation!

Yesterday was an added bonus for some of the staff as we didn’t need to change hotels. This meant no need to send the truck off to the next hotel super early, no packing the bag before bed, a chance to catch up on laundry (that situation was dire for some) and perhaps even work on the tan. Nice for the hotel crew!

However we’re back into full swing tomorrow: another tough mountain stage for the boys, and a hotel transfer over some mountain passes in the truck for the staff. Game on.

Toby Watson
Toby Watsonhttps://www.veloveritas.co.uk
Ex-Garmin Transitions physiotherapist and soigneur Toby Watson brings you inside the squad, and shows you what it's like to be working with a top team on the biggest races in the world. Through his regular blog updates, Toby shares his sense of drama and fun that were essential parts of his job. Toby is Australian, and currently lives in Girona with his fiancee Amanda. If he has any time, he enjoys reading and running, and occasionally skiing too, when he can.

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